Sodium Nitrate Reduces Heart Damage Caused by Chemo

RICHMOND, Va.Consuming lots of green leafy vegetables and beet juice that are high in an inorganic nitrate may help reduce the damage to the heart caused by a powerful anti-cancer drug, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The findings are good news for cancer patients who take the chemotherapy doxorubicin, which has been shown to cause permanent heart damage. Dexrazoxane is the only FDA-approved therapy for prevention or treatment of heart damage caused by doxorubicin, and it may decrease in the ability of the bone marrow to produce blood cells..

Virginia Commonwealth University used a mouse model to demonstrate that mice treated with sodium nitrate had a reduced rate of heart dysfunction caused by doxorubicin. On a molecular level, the sodium nitrate stabilized the mitochondria and protected against free-radical damage to the heart.

The nitrate dose used in the study is 400 percent of the World Health Organization Acceptable Daily Intake (WHO-ADI). The researchers noted sodium nitrate can easily be obtained from foods including leafy green vegetables, spinach and lettuces, which have high levels of nitrate, or beverages such as beetroot juice.

These results may have significant impact in reducing the risk and degree of heart damage in patients who depend on doxorubicin for treatment of cancers. This is because inorganic nitrate is a water-soluble and very inexpensive chemical that could be ideal for long-term oral administration during the course of cancer treatment with doxorubicin," the researchers said.